Souls of the Forgotten
by Angel-eyes56
Summary: After losing Dean and Castiel, Sam must find away to rescue them from Purgatory, he accepts an offer from SHIELD and along the way finds something he didn't think he would have again, love. Meanwhile trapped in Purgatory Dean and Castiel find allies in another trapped soul Ianto Jones and the vampire Benny, can they find away home? Crossover with TW/DW as well.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Souls of the Forgotten  
**Fandoms: **Supernatural/Torchwood/The Avengers/Doctor Who  
**Pairings/Characters: **Tony/Sam, Jack/Ianto, Castiel/Dean, Clint/Coulson, Natasha/Pepper, Thor/Jane, Bruce/Steve, Kevin Tran, Nick Fury, Linda Tran, Kevin Tran, Benny/Darcy, the Doctor, Rory/Amy and Balthazar/Tosh  
**Summary: **Sam watched Dean and Castiel disappear right before his eyes; with the loss of Bobby he wasn't sure how he would survive or even how to begin to find a way to rescue them. Help comes in the most unlikely fashion when SHIELD suddenly offers to try and help Sam find the mysterious Doctor. Knowing they have their own agenda, Sam is desperate and accepts their offer any way.

Meanwhile, Dean and Castiel find themselves struggling to survive in a living nightmare. For them, aid comes from a most unlikely pair of people: a fellow trapped soul, Ianto Jones and the vampire, Benny. Together the four of them must find a way to survive in their hellish prison but also find a way home.

One year later they are rescued but during that time much has changed for the brothers; is for better or worse? And how will they handle the biggest changes in their lives?  
**Disclaimer: **I do not own Supernatural, Torchwood or the Avengers  
**Beta: **RoyalLadyEmma

**Chapter 1**

For a moment Sam forgot how to breathe as he stared at the spot where Dean and Castiel had stood just seconds before. His heart thundered loudly in his chest as he could literally taste the fear in his mouth. He had only just lost Bobby; Sam knew he couldn't survive losing Dean and Castiel as well.

"Sam, are you okay?" Kevin gently placed his hand on the rapidly paling Sam. He could feel his friend trembling beneath his hand and he squeezed Sam's arm reassuringly.

"I don't... I know. They're just... gone!" Sam managed to get out as he stared blankly at the now empty spot. His mind was reeling, trying to process what he'd just seen; he shook his head in disbelief. "They're gone," and his voice was a whisper.

Kevin had never seen someone so broken and lost as Sam looked right now and he was at a total loss of how to help him. At the same time however, he knew that they had to get out of there before someone stumbled upon them. "Come on, Sam; we have to get out of here before someone comes looking into what happened." He took hold of Sam's arm and tried to pull him along but Sam yanked himself free.

"No! What if they come back?" In his mind, Sam knew he was grasping at straws, but his heart didn't want to listen to reason. "I need to stay…"

Kevin resisted the urge to slap some sense into Sam and instead went for the logical approach. "You won't be able to start looking for Dean and Castiel if you're locked in jail for breaking into this place."

His shoulders slumped in defeat, Sam numbly allowed Kevin to lead him out of the building, doing his best to make sure that they avoided any lingering Leviathans who were no doubt out for revenge after their leader's demise.

* * *

A sigh of relief escaped Kevin's lips once they inside of the Impala. They had managed to avoid being spotted but from the completely shattered and broken look in Sam's eyes it was obvious that he wasn't going to be much use, which left Kevin very little choice. They were going to have asked his mom for help. _'I just hope mom doesn't freak out too badly,' _Kevin silently prayed and as he glanced over at Sam, sitting motionless in to the passenger's seat, he added, _'I just really hope you can help, mom, because I have no idea what to do.'_

Linda Tran wasn't a fool. She knew that she was being watched, just as she knew that her neighbours weren't acting like themselves. _'And seriously, did they really think I wouldn't notice the lingering mailman and the woman endlessly watering her grass?' _Linda fought the urge to roll her eyes. It was taking all of her rapidly dwindling self-control not to say screw you to the FBI agents who were consoling her with promises that they are doing everything they can to find her son. What she really wanted to do was have the hunters that SHIELD had on their payroll take out the demons that were not-so-subtly watching her place.

There was a little known fact about Linda Tran: she was a fully trained SHIELD agent and she was tired of acting like an innocent civilian.

_'I'm not sure how much longer I can keep up this charade. It's my baby boy they're hunting!' _When it came to her son, Linda did not like being forced to sit on the sideline and she was inches away from saying screw you to Fury's orders and taking care of the problems herself.

So when Kevin called sounding like a lost little boy she didn't give a damn about her cover or anything else; the _only _thing that mattered was that her son needed her.

_'Fury can just bite me if he has a problem with this!' _Linda thought viciously to herself as she set up a meeting with her son and quickly packed her bag, shoving her belongings into it with more force than necessary. Slipping by her FBI watchers who were looking for her missing son was a piece of cake. Linda was almost ashamed for them at how easy it had been. She knew there was going to be backlash for her actions but as a mother she couldn't care less.

Her baby needed her and that was all that mattered to Linda.

* * *

After hanging out with the Winchesters for only a short time, Kevin quickly caught on that it didn't matter how the motel looked on the outside. All that mattered was a comfortable bed, well as comfortable as a well-used motel bed could be, and access to a hot shower.

It hadn't taken much effort on Kevin's part to convince Sam to take advantage of the hot shower while he ran across the street to the burger joint. While he waited for their food to cook, Kevin made a quick call to his mom who immediately promised him that she was on his way despite all of Kevin's protestations that he didn't want his mom involved in any of the dangers that came with having the Winchesters in your life.

When Kevin arrived back in their room he wasn't surprised to see Sam sitting on the edge of his bed dressed only in his jeans. He had a towel hanging loosely in his hands but he made no move to dry the droplets of water falling from his wet hair down his bare shoulders onto his back and chest.

"Sam? Would you like something to eat?" Kevin asked as he placed the bags of food and tray of drinks on the small table in the room. As he opened the bags, the enticing aroma of freshly grilled beef and hot French fries filled the small room.

It was on the tip of Sam's tongue to tell Kevin that he wasn't hungry but after seeing the worried look in the younger boy's eyes Sam didn't have the heart to tell him no. Mustering up a small smile, "Yeah, sure, I could eat something." The relieved smile that appeared on Kevin's face had Sam silently vowing that he would force down as much as he could even though he knew it would more than likely taste like ash. "Thanks," he accepted a burger and a cold drink.

Under Kevin's watchful gaze Sam managed to get most of his burger down in his throat but he'd been right; every bite tasted like ash.

"I called my mom."

Sam choked on the fry he was in the process of swallowing and after several moments of coughing and gagging and having Kevin hit him on the back, Sam managed to regain control. "Are you…" Sam's voice was a harsh rasp and he gratefully accepted the drink that Kevin pressed into his hand. After sucking down the soothing ice-cold liquid, he continued. "Are you sure you want to do that? I know how badly you wanted to keep your mom safe and out of danger."

"Yeah, I did and no, I still don't, but I'm not ashamed to admit that we need her help." Kevin shrugged his shoulders; he didn't mind admitting that he was out of his depth with the current situation. "I have no idea what to do. You... you just seem so broken and I don't know how to help you or how to find the guys. At least with us you'll have a place to stay. With Bobby gone and Dean and Castiel who knows where it might be good for you to take a few days to relax and recover in a safe environment."

Realising that Kevin was speaking the truth, Sam wadded up his empty burger wrapper, tossed it over Kevin's head into the bin and then looked at his friend. _'Those should be illegal,' _hethought with a small grin as he gazed into the hopeful puppy-dogs eyes that Kevin was flashing at him. "You know, that does sound nice and I would appreciate it, thank you." He had to admit that Kevin did have a point; a few days of downtime might be good for him. It would give him a chance to clear his head and come up with a plan before they started looking for clues as to where Dean and Castiel ended up.

"Thank you too for everything you've done for me." Sam knew he was a mess but he'd lost Dean one too many times in the past, and now without Bobby at his side for guidance and support, he didn't know how or where he was going to begin to look for Dean. "I'd be lost without you." He drained the last of his drink with a noisy slurp; "and hungry too!" he grinned cheekily.

Doing his best to ignore the blush that tinted his cheeks, Kevin shrugged his shoulders and mumbled, "It's no big deal," under his breath even though the faint smile on his lips proved just how happy he was that Sam had agreed with his suggestion.

* * *

Sleep didn't come easily for Sam or Kevin that night but somehow they both managed to drift off into a restless slumber. Unfortunately, it was one that didn't last long for Sam as nightmares soon began to invade his sleep. Despite his body's need for rest, his mind had other ideas and behind his eyelids horrible nightmares played out. Against his will, Sam watched in horror as Dean and Castiel were trapped in living hells mingled with his own memories of torture for a year at the hands of Michael and Lucifer.

It took all of Sam's willpower not to let his agonised screams of terror his lips as he fought desperately to free himself from the power of his own mind.

Heart beating furiously in his chest Sam shot straight up in bed his eyes wide with fury and glittering with unshed tears. He dared to take a glance at the second bed, afraid of what he might see in Kevin's eyes, but he was pleased to see Kevin sleeping soundly. _'At least one of us is getting some sleep.' _Sam was grateful that he hadn't woken Kevin up; out of the two of them Sam knew that Kevin was the one who needed the most rest.

Quietly as he could Sam crawled out of bed and padded barefoot across the floor to the window; pulling back the curtain Sam looked up at the night sky full of twinkling stars. "I know I'm probably the last person you would ever expect to ask you for help and I really don't care if you don't like me. All I ask is that you please watch over Dean and Castiel for me," Sam prayed in a low voice. "Please…" and his voice threatened to break. Taking a deep breath, he continued; "just keep Dean and Castiel safe that's all I ask."

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Supernatural, Torchwood or the Avengers

**Chapter 2**

Disoriented by the sudden change of circumstance Dean stumbled, nearly falling to his knees, and his eyes swept over the bleak, grey landscape. "Well, doesn't this place just scream cheerful?" Dean muttered under his breath as he covered his eyes with his hand to try and see around the glare. No matter where he looked, everything was dull and lifeless, even the sky. "Cas, do you have any idea as to where we are?"

After a quick glance around at their new surroundings, a look of deep dread appeared in Castiel's eyes as he informed Dean in a solemn tone, "I believe we are in Purgatory, which is very bad."

Dean dropped his head into his hands. "Well this just great! We're trapped in this over-the-top grey monstrosity and there's probably no pie around for miles."

While Dean stomped around ranting and raving about the lack of freshly baked, flakey-crusted, fruit-filled pie, interspersed with "how am I expected to survive out here without pie?" and "I'm gonna kick somebody's ass!", he didn't notice the glowing blue eyes watching them from the shadows.

It had been three years since he'd arrived in this living hell and three years since he'd seen another human, from his spot Ianto watched the man rant to himself and his friend. "Great! The first humans I see in three years and one of them just might be insane, that would be my luck."

The Rift that was now a part of him hummed to life as he felt the energy from a newly-active portal wash over him that energy was what continued to draw him to this desolate locale in the first place.

His companion chuckled from beside him. "I still don't think you were ever that sane to start with, Ianto," and he gave the displace Welshman a friendly poke in the ribs.

Ianto glared at his friend. "Oh yeah? Well I'd like to think that I'm saner than you, Benny."

Benny just shook his head with affectionate amusement for his young companion; gazing into those amazing blue eyes, he could see the myriad of emotions that Ianto always fought so hard to keep off of his face. In the three years since they'd met this was the first time another human had landed in Purgatory. "The spike in energy means that others are going to be drawn to this place; we better collect crazy-boy and his friend before they arrive."

Ianto nodded his head in agreement; so far his skin wasn't tingling alerting him to approaching dangers. "You better let me do the talking, though and please try not to scare our guests."

Benny gave Ianto one of his infamous fanged grins. "I make no promises, my human friend!" he called over his shoulder as he started making his way over to the newcomers.

Ianto rolled his eyes and followed after his friend all the while muttering under his breath, "And you say _I'm_ the crazy one?"

"Someone is approaching," Castiel murmured as he moved to stand protectively in front of Dean.

"Great, that would be the welcoming committee." Dean's hand automatically flew to his jacket and then he cursed soundly as his hand came up empty. "Well, let's hope they're friendly or really slow because I'm unarmed."

Castiel and Dean kept their guards up as they watched two figures slide down the small hill and Dean's eyebrow rose in amused surprise as he realised one of the men was wearing what looked to be suit pants and a blood-red silk shirt, both of which had clearly seen better days. _'Who gets trapped in a place like this wearing a suit?' _Dean couldn't help wonder to himself.

Dean's eyes narrowed and his body tensed as the two men came to a stop in front of him and Castiel. A strong part of Dean wanted to shove the angel behind him, to keep him safe from harm at all costs. "So who the hell are you two? And more importantly, where in the world are we?" Dean demanded with all the subtly he possessed.

Castiel shook his head not at all surprised at Dean's blunt tone and questions. Stepping forward, he said, "I am Castiel and this is my friend, Dean Winchester, and what he _meant_ to say was could you please tell us where we are and how we may get home?"

Both Ianto and Benny's eyebrows rose with alarmed surprise as they learned the newcomers' names and brief looks of worry flickered across both of their faces before disappearing beneath two calm and cool masks. "I'm Ianto Jones, this is my friend, Benny, and you're in Purgatory. As for a way home, I've been looking for one for the past three years and have yet to find it," Ianto explained. His voice trailed off in the end as he recalled his own multiple failures at trying to find a way home. Despite his best efforts and even with the power of the Rift flowing through him escape seemed impossible.

"Three years?!" Dean could hardly believe his ears. He couldn't understand how anyone could have survived in such a horrible place for so long; after only a few minutes of being here Dean was itching to be out of this new hell. Suddenly it dawned on him that this was where the monsters he helped vanquish ended up and that knowledge sent chills up and down his spine and turned his blood to ice.

Unaware of Dean's change of mood, Castiel was silent as he studied Ianto and the strange energy that seemed to wrap around him like a blanket. _'I never thought he would have ended up here! I wonder why Balthazar hasn't freed him yet?' _It wasn't like his brother to let a charge go unprotected for so long and especially not one tied so closely to the Lady of Time herself.

"Are you hard of hearing? That is what he said," Benny growled out as he took a protective stance in front of Ianto, his eyes warning them to be careful with their questions. He knew the full story of how Ianto ended up in this place and he refused to let these two bully the tale out of his friend.

Dean recognized the look in Benny's eyes; he had the same look in his own eyes when he was protecting Sam from anyone who dared to ask about his time in the pit. "Hey, I didn't mean to pry! I just have mad respect for anyone who can survive this place for three years and manage to stay sane."

Benny relaxed slightly as a playful grin appeared on his face. "Well, now him being _sane_ is a whole other story."

Rolling his eyes with mock exasperation, Ianto shook his head. "As much fun as it would be to stay here and debate whether or not I'm still sane, your arrival will soon draw the wrong kind of attention and you don't want to be around when the others arrive."

As if waiting for Ianto's words an eerie howl sounded off in the distance, one that was quickly followed by another and then another until it sounded as though there was a pack of wild animals baying in unison.

"I think that is a very wise idea," Castiel was quick to agree. Out in the open was not a very safe place for them to be and he was all too aware that it wouldn't take long for Dean to be recognized as the hunter who had put many of them in this place.

Dean wasn't a fool either; he realised just how valuable a prize he and Castiel would be once it became known that they were in Purgatory. "Sounds like a plan to me. We can save the girl-talk for another time."

A confused look came over Castiel's face as he pointed out a very obvious fact to the amusement of Ianto and Benny and the exasperation to Dean, "We are not women so why would we engage in girl talk?"

Dean shook his head as he clapped Castiel on the shoulder, "It's a figure of speech, man."

Ianto knew that Purgatory had just gotten a little more interesting. "You can explain the concept to Castiel later; now it's time to get moving." He cautioned as he pulled out a very sharp and wicked looking knife. "That pack's getting closer every minute we delay."

Dean's eyebrow rose even higher as Benny pulled out an identical looking blade. _'I have got to get one of those for myself!' _ But now was not the time to ask where one could get an knife like that; right now was the time for running. With a wave of his hand Dean looked at Ianto and Benny, "Lead on."

With a nod of his head Ianto took point. "Stick close and keep your eyes open; they're fast and cunning, and if you're not careful you'll be dead before you even know what hit you," the Welshman warned.

'_Well doesn't that just sound lovely?' _Dean snarked to himself. This place just got better and better. _'I hope you're okay, Sammy, and looking for a way to get us out of here.' _Dean prayed that his baby brother and Kevin had managed to get safely away from the remaining Leviathans and that they had already started figuring out a way to find them. Unfortunately, Dean had to admit that that task would be a lot harder now that Bobby was gone.

* * *

For the next few days Sam seemed to live in a numb daze. The world continued on around him but ever since that first night Sam hadn't lifted his eyes off of his laptop screen as he searched endlessly through every site he could think of trying to find out where Dean and Castiel could have ended up. So far every possible lead turned out to be a dead end and Sam was slowly beginning to run out of ideas. _'I need you, Bobby, and your wisdom because I'm at a loss of where to look for you now and if you're where I'm beginning to think you are, then I have no idea how to help you.' _

Given the negative results of his intensive internet search, Sam feared that Dean and Castiel were in Purgatory, the home where all monsters, vampires, werewolves and everything else in-between ended up. If that was indeed the case, then Sam had no idea how to get them out. _'I need help from someone who knows about portals.' _

Sam had a vague idea of two people who probably knew more than a little something about portals, Jane Foster and Erik Selvig. They'd met the couple a year ago in a small New Mexico town when he and Dean had investigated rumours of residents encountering Norse Gods. Jane and Erik had discovered that being involved was right up their alley and after a lot of digging the four intrepid investigators had discovered the truth about the purported gods.

Unfortunately, Sam soon learned that it would be impossible to seek them out for help; Jane Foster and Erik Selvig had disappeared off the face of the Earth.

There was another option, one that had come to Sam earlier in the day while he was standing in the shower, letting the silence, solitude and water wash over him. For years hunters had been stumbling across a strange man calling himself only the Doctor. Not much was known about him but there was always a common theme to the sightings; he traveled in a blue 1960 British police box and after appearing to accidentally stumble into the problem always managed to save the day even when there looked to be no hope for success.

Even Bobby had met a few times and while most people praised the Time Lord for preventing sure catastrophe, he called the Doctor a 'bumbling igit with questionable fashion sense.' It was a statement which had Dean raising a questioning eyebrow and looking at Bobby's own flannel outfit; luckily Dean had enough sense and managed to keep his own fashion comments to himself.

'_If only I could find him or he could find me!' _Sam was sure this Doctor person could be the answer to his prayers but from everything he'd been able to learn, it was next to impossible to get in contact with him and no one ever knew when he was going to show up. Apparently, the man just did as he pleased when he pleased.

A series of knocks on the door pulled Sam from his thoughts and he blinked in surprise. "Is that your mom?" he asked Kevin who had jumped up immediately and was peering through the curtain.

"Kevin Tran, you will open this door right now! You are already in so much trouble, young man, don't make it worse by keeping me waiting!" Linda Tran didn't need to raise her voice to be heard through the wooden door; her anger made her words very clear.

"That would be her," Kevin gulped audibly as he glanced wide-eyed and hopeful at Sam, "maybe you should answer it?"

"Not on your life!" Sam raised an eyebrow and raised his hands in protest. "No, I don't think so. I'm willing to face a lot of things but even I won't get in the way of an angry and protective parent and their offspring. You're on your own, buddy." Sam might not always listen to it but he did have a sensible side and it was screaming at him to stay out of the way.

Swallowing hard Kevin slowly moved towards the door as if he was walking towards a death sentence and he wasn't surprised to discover that his hands were shaking as he lifted them towards the doorknob. Hoping for a last second reprieve, Kevin glanced back at Sam, his eyes pleading with his friend.

Sam couldn't help but shake his head and the amusement that he was feeling was clear in his voice, "Kevin, it's just your mom, for Pete's sake! It's not like she's a horde of demons waiting to rip you apart."

"No, they'd be a lot less scary," Kevin muttered under his breath as he finally found the courage to turn the doorknob and open the door.

Linda had broken all local speed laws in getting to Kevin and she knew that she was more than likely going to be on the receiving end of one of Fury's lectures but it would be one that she would happily tell him to go to hell for. _'Nothing gets between a mother and her child.' _Now, as she stared at her son and saw that he was all right, she didn't care what fallout was waiting for her after her actions. All that mattered was her baby was safe and in one piece.

"Don't you _ever_ scary me like that again!" Linda warned firecely before pulling her son into a tight hug.

Gratefully, Kevin melted into the hug. "I'm all right, mom. I'm safe and sound."

Watching the touching family reunion Sam could feel himself getting a little choked up and he desperately wished that Dean or Bobby were there with him. _'I can't do anything about Bobby but I will not rest until I find you both and bring you home,' _Sam vowed silently to himself. No matter what, he would find a way to save his brother and their angel.

Pulling away from his mom Kevin looked over his shoulder. "Mom, this is my friend, Sam Winchester."

Taking that as his cue Sam moved towards them holding out his hand in friendship and flashing her his most winning smile. "Hello, Mrs Tran, it's nice to meet you."

Linda raked her eyes up and down Sam and let out a distinctly disapproving sound. "You're far too skinny, young man. You look like you could use a good home-cooked meal which is why you will be coming home with Kevin and me." Linda declared and the look on her face dared him to try and say no.

It had been a very long time since Sam had anything close to a home-cooked meal. "That sounds really nice, Mrs Tran, but I really have something important to do that needs all my attention." He returned to the desk and his always working laptop.

"You mean looking for a way to find and rescue your brother and your angel from wherever they ended up after defeating the Leviathan known as Dick Roman?" Linda asked in an ever-so-causal tone.

Kevin and Sam just stared at her for a moment. "How do you know about that?" Kevin demanded before paling and yanking himself out of her arms only to dash across the room and hide behind Sam's taller form. "She's a demon! Douse her in holy water and send her back to hell!" Kevin cried in a panic.

Sam rolled his eyes as he pulled his cowardly friend out from behind him. "I really doubt she's a demon, Kevin; if she was I'd already be dead and you'd be in their clutches," he pointed out in a calm, rational tone.

Linda crossed her arms over her chest and glared at her son. "I am not a demon. And you even _think _of dousing me with holy water or trying any of your other tricks on me or you will both be _very_ sorry," Linda warned in a tone that only parents could create and she was inordinately pleased when she saw both Sam and Kevin gulp and quickly nod their heads in agreement. Her stern gaze softened as she studied Sam. "I know you don't have any reason to trust me or believe me when I say I am here to help you, but I'd like to change that. What do you know about SHIELD?"

Sam blinked in surprise; that was a name he hadn't heard in a while. Bobby had worked with them a few times but quite annoyingly, he couldn't go into the details of their activities. He kept saying something about 'the blasted government and their secrets' every time he or Dean would ask Bobby about his work with them. "Bobby has mentioned them from time to time but he's never really given us a whole lot of information."

Satisfied that he wasn't going to try and vanquish her, Linda stepped further into the small motel room and crossed the distance between her and Sam. Resting her hand on his arm, she looked him straight in the eye. "Bobby was a good man and he will be greatly missed. I can't tell you much right now but SHIELD has been keeping a close eye on you and your brother; we know how many times you've saved the world just as we know what you've had to sacrifice in your work on Earth's behalf. We know full well how much you've lost and how much you've suffered. You have our gratitude for all your efforts."

"Thank you," Sam humbly inclined his head; oh, how he wished his brother were there to hear Linda's words.

"Now, back to business." Linda cleared her throat. "We may be able to help you in finding a way to rescue your brother and angel."

At this point, knowing all his efforts had been useless, Sam knew he didn't have anything left to lose. "Bobby may not have liked you all but he did trust one agent as much as Bobby could trust someone who wasn't family, an Agent Phil Coulson. If you can arrange for me to meet with him I'd be willing to listen to what you have to say."

If Linda was hurt by his unwillingness to talk to her she didn't show it. "That sounds reasonable; once we get to a SHIELD safe house I will do my best to get in contact with Agent Coulson," Linda promised.

"Then I would like to take you up on your offer of a home-cooked meal." Sam smiled at her with boyish charm.

Smiling brightly, Linda clapped her hands together. "Wonderful! Now gather your stuff and let's get out of this _charming _little place." It took all of Linda's willpower not to wrinkle her nose as she looked around the less-than-sanitary room and she fought the urge not to go to the nearest store and pick up cleaning supplies and give this room a much-needed cleaning.

Kevin recognized the look in his mother's eyes and knew she was moments away from walking into the front office and listing all the places that sell cleaning supplies nearby. "We better hurry up before she robs a store of its cleaning supplies or mugs an old lady," Kevin whispered to Sam.

It was on the tip of Sam's tongue to tell Kevin he was crazy but then he saw the look in Linda's eyes as she glared distastefully at a spot on the wall and he had to wonder how close to the truth Kevin had been with that statement.

It didn't taken Sam and Kevin long to pack up their meagre belongings, with the steadily growing louder mutters under Linda's breath urging them on faster. They were afraid that she might take over and Sam wasn't about to have a woman he didn't know touching his underwear.

Once their bags were packed and they'd double-checked the room for any forgotten items, Linda nodded her head with satisfaction. "Good, now we can get out of this fleabag of a dump. I'll have to make sure to disinfect all your clothes the moment we're at the safe house," Linda muttered under her breath as she shepherded both Kevin and Sam out of the room and over to both cars. "Kevin, you'll ride with Sam. Oh and Sam?" She waited until Sam was looking at her, "try and keep up, dear."

Shaking his head as he loaded their gear into the car boot, Sam chuckled under his breath. _'I think Dean would like you and I can't wait for you two to meet.' _Sam refused to give voice to the negative little voice in the back of his head whispering that he might never see Dean or Castiel again. That kind of thinking just wouldn't do him any good.

TBC...


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Supernatural, Torchwood or the Avengers

Sorry for the lateness of this chapter, I managed to break my ribs and they've been a pain to deal with. I'm also doing NaNo this year so that has cut into my time.

**Chapter 3**

"Can someone please tell me where in the hell Agent Tran is?"

A delightful smile graced Tony's face as Fury's aggravated voice greeted him the moment he stepped foot onto the command centre of the Helicarrier. It always made his day brighter when Fury was in a snit. "So who managed to piss of old One-Eye today?"

Phil gave him his patented 'be silent and I won't be forced to hurt you' look mixed with his 'you're not as funny as you think you are' look. Tony felt special that he had already earned those looks after only being there for a few seconds. It was always the little things that got him through the day.

Cheerfully brushing off the looks that he was getting, Tony pulled out a chair, placed his feet up on the table and crossed his ankles. "So who's this Agent Tran?" Tony pointed his fingers at a growling Fury; "Because anyone who can get under Fury's skin like that would make an excellent addition to my company."

"Ooh, I'll tell him!"

Phil fought the urge to rub his forehead as Clint suddenly dropped down from the air vent. "What have I told you about hanging in the air ducts?" he demanded from a virtuous-looking Clint.

Clint blinked innocently at his handler/boyfriend. "Only do so when I'm stalking you or bored," he offered up with an impish smile. He looked as though he was going to say something else but the look on Phil's face seemed to silence his next thought.

"You taught that look to Pepper, didn't you?!" an outraged Tony declared. He recognized the look on Phil's face as one he'd seen on his ex-girlfriend's face more than a few times when he had done or said something stupid.

"Miss Potts already had it down," Phil causally informed Tony earning a scowl from the other man. "I just gave her a few pointers on perfecting it."

"Wow!" Clint snorted derisively. "First she takes advice from Phil about being able to silence you with a single look and now she's dating Natasha! I gotta say, Pepper is turning into one deadly and scary woman," he commented and then he shivered at the idea of a Phil/Natasha Mini-Me roaming the world.

"Pepper was already scary enough without any help," Tony added lightly. "Now, are you going to answer my question? Who is Agent Tran and why Fury's so worked up over his or her mysterious disappearance?" Tony demanded trying to get the conversation back on track.

"Agent Linda Tran, whose son is involved with a few hunters we've had our eye on, went AWOL a few days ago after getting a message from her son and no one has seen her since." A forceful voice answered Tony's demand for information.

Tony blinked at Fury as the director of SHIELD glared at him. _'Oh, shit!' _

"Does that sufficiently answer your questions, Mr Stark?"

Tony thought about it for a moment and then shrugged his shoulders. "Not really. Next question, what are hunters and how are they involved with SHIELD?"

Fury deliberately turned his back on Tony and focused his attention on Phil, effectively ignoring the inquisitive young man, which Tony thought was rather rude. "Brief the Avengers on everything we have about hunters and the Winchester's, I have a feeling that they are somehow involved." Fury turned on his heel and stalked off, his coat billowing out dramatically behind him.

"Why do I get the feeling that these Winchesters annoy our dear director more than we do?" There was a distinct pout on Tony's face as he asked in a hurt tone and Clint even threw in his dreaded puppy-dog eyes, aimed in Phil's direction.

Coulson found himself fighting the urge to roll his eyes at the hurt looks both men were giving him. "I very much doubt that, given the fact that Director Fury hasn't met the Winchesters just yet and even when he does meet them I sincerely doubt they'll be able to annoy him _half_ as much as you two do."

"Aww, Coulson, you say the nicest things and if I didn't think Legolas would put an arrow in my back I would so kiss you right now." Tony coyly batted his eyes at Coulson.

A low growl escaped Clint's lips as he moved closer to Phil's side, silently staking his claim and a smirk graced Tony's lips; it was so easy to rile Clint up when it came to Coulson. Tony had figured it out rather early on that Clint thought there might be a little something brewing between the him and Phil, and since then, Clint went out of his way to make sure that Coulson was never alone with Tony for too long. It was something that never failed to amuse Tony and he used every opportunity to toy with Clint.

"You said their names were Winchester, right?" Tony asked breaking up what would be Phil and Clint's version of a love fest.

Within a half-a-second Coulson had speared Tony with a look that would have a lesser man shaking in his boots. "You will _not_ begin searching for them, do I make myself clear? They live extremely off the grid and the only thing you may find out about them is their wanted files within the FBI."

"They're wanted by the FBI?" Tony liked these guys more and more. "Really? That's cool."

"Everything will be explained at the meeting later today; until then please refrain from getting any further on the Director's already bad side," Coulson warned Tony.

_'Yeah, like that's going to happen,' _Tony thought to himself with a snort. Whistling tunelessly under his breath, he waited until Coulson and Clint headed off to do whatever it was that super-secret agents and bored assassins did before turning on his heel and heading off in the other direction. Tony had some digging to do.

* * *

It didn't take long for Tony to find everything he could on Dean and Sam Winchester and after reading it all, he decided that in his humble opinion they'd had an even crappier childhood than he did. As for their chosen profession he had only one thing to say, "Huh, guess I better make sure my old man isn't haunting my ass."

Tony had to admit that he was looking forward to seeing how the likes of Sam and Dean would fit in with SHIELD. "I wonder how easy they are to rile up?" Oh yes, he was definitely going to have fun playing with his new toys.

* * *

_Somewhere in time and space_

The timelines that had been in constant flux since the 456 came to steal away the children of Earth as well as time of the doomed apocalypse that the angels and demons longed for were finally beginning to right themselves. Something or someone had intentionally interfered with the natural and intended progression of time, for neither of those events were ever supposed to have happened.

In fact, the angel Castiel going rogue and unleashing the Leviathans on an unsuspecting populace thus allowing Seriath to gain a foothold in this world should never have happened either. Whomever or whatever had interfered with the proper unwinding of time was definitely a powerful foe indeed.

Floating in the vast nothingness of the vortex, the TARDIS mourned for those she had watched over for so long and whom she'd come to care for as if they were her own children as they faced yet another challenge. Their shared pain called out to her and she longed to comfort their hurting hearts and sooth away their fears but unfortunately, this was one time when she absolutely could not interfere. Together her children were on an important individual journey that they each had to take in order to grow and reach their specific destinies.

_'One more year, my dear ones, and then you will all find your way back to one another, I promise. Just hold on a little longer.' _

* * *

Dean's legs ached like they had never ached before and it felt like they had been walking for hours. "How much farther do we have to go? And don't you people ever take a break?" He cringed when he realised that he sounded exactly like a whiney child.

Benny shot Dean a smirk over his shoulder. "Tiring out already, kid? I thought the big bad hunters were made of tougher stuff." He snorted with amusement. "Guess that's just a vicious rumour, huh?"

Ianto shook his head. "I do not believe it's wise to tease the man who knows all the different ways to kill you," he pointed out helpfully.

Benny flashed Ianto a fanged grin. "I'll take my chances with our baby hunter. He sounds pretty harmless to me!"

Dean's eyes narrowed dangerously as he stared at Benny's back. "Watch who you're calling a baby hunter, I've staked more of you than I care to count, so keep your fangs to yourself and we won't have a problem."

Castiel glanced between Dean and Benny with a quizzical look in his eyes. "Is this a show of alpha male stupidly that women usually complain about?" The angel turned to Ianto for answers; even with all the time he'd spent amongst humans, he still found many of their interactions bewildering and he was still learning about their behaviours.

Looking over his shoulder the Welshman smiled back at the confused looking angel, "Why yes it is. I have a feeling you'll be seeing a lot of this particular behaviour in the future." Ianto felt a painful tug at his heart as he tried not to let Dean and Benny's bickering remind him of two other males bucking heads; it felt like a lifetime ago. Shaking his head Ianto forced those memories back into the deepest parts of his mind and heart where they couldn't hurt him anymore – well, not quite so much.

Plastering a benign smile on his face, Ianto took pity on the tired newcomer. "We're nearly there; only a little longer and then you can rest."

'_Thank goodness.' _ Dean fought the urge to cheer and decided to find out more about their mysterious Welshman, "So how long have you been here for?" Dean was getting angsty after only being trapped here after a few hours he didn't even want to begin to image how long Ianto's been here.

'_Thank goodness!' _ Dean fought the urge to cheer out loud and decided instead to find out more about their mysterious Welshman. "So how long have you been here for?" Dean was getting angsty after only being trapped here after a few hours; he didn't even want to begin to image how long Ianto's been here.

Benny stopped in his tracks and stared at Dean in shock; his mouth hung open which made his fangs clearly visible. "Are you really that stupid?" he asked. "What did the man tell you not more than an hour ago?"

"Ignore the vampire." Ianto shot Benny a glare before turning back to Dean. "About three years."

Dean also came to a halt as he stared at Ianto in shock. "Dude, how are you still sane?" He breathed the words out reverently.

Ianto shrugged his shoulders as he looked up at the grey sky and considered his answer. "Honestly? I'm not sure that I _am_ still sane."

'_Three years? That is so wrong!' _This piece of news greatly worried Castiel. The power of the Rift that poured off of Ianto made him a very tempting target to all the supernatural beings trapped in Purgatory, and Castiel was quite worried that Ianto's guardian angel hadn't already gotten him out of there. Surely he was aware of the imminent danger Ianto faced at every turn? _'Unless the war has hidden Ianto from his guardian's sight;' _that thought worried Castiel even more. It was not safe for Ianto to be unguarded because if Crowley learned that there was someone with the power of time running through him within easy reach, the King of Hell would stop at _nothing_ to possess and control him.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you end up here?" Castiel inquired as casually as possible; he needed as much information as he could get if he had any chance of getting them out of Purgatory alive.

A tsunami of powerful emotions crashed over Ianto as he thought back to how he'd arrived in Purgatory. "A creature known as Seriath didn't like the fact that I closed the Rift and stopped her plans for gaining entrance to the mortal world. As punishment she cast my soul into Purgatory. I was lucky though, my training and time with Torchwood gave me the skills I need to survive this place. On the other hand, it was Lady Luck led me to Benny and I can't think of anyone better to watch my back." Ianto smiled fondly at Benny and the vampire returned the grin.

"I got your back, your front and all the bits in between!" Benny laughed.

Ianto's cheery façade didn't fool the young hunter for a moment and Dean looked at the broken man before him with respect shining clearly in his eyes. "Dude, I know all about sacrificing yourself for the world."

"Did you do it as you lay dying in your lover's arms while telling him that you love him only to get 'don't' in return?" The pure pain of Jack's final rejection still lingered in Ianto's voice.

Dean winced sympathetically_; 'that betrayal had to hurt even more than dying.' _Oh sure, he and Sam had their falling outs but they always made sure they each knew how much they still cared for and loved one another. "No, Ianto, I can't and I can't even begin to image how much that hurt. I'm sorry."

Ianto's smile was a mixture of hurt, sadness and resigned acceptance. "Thank you, it's a moment I wish I could forget. When I first arrived here I didn't give a damn about survival or anything else but the crushing pain in my chest caused by the man I love being incapable of saying those three little words back to me in my last moment."

The young Welshman had to pause for a moment to collect himself as the pain of rejection once again flared brightly. "I had a death wish and kept taking unnecessary chances. It wasn't until I met Benny and he slapped some sense back into me and forced me to see that my life was still worth living."

Curious about the details of that encounter, Dean turned his gaze to Benny. "And how did you do that?" He had been on his own road to self-destruction on more than one occasion and he knew it wasn't an easy path to be saved from.

A fond look appeared on Benny's face as he studied Ianto. "At first, I was gonna umm… have him for… you know… dinner, but he was just so calm and accepting of the whole thing that I ended up talking to him instead. I mean, where's the fun in biting someone who didn't care whether they lived or died? He shared his story with me and afterwards, I calmly reminded him that he _needed_ to survive so he could find a way out of this place. I figured that way, once he's back in the human world, he can track down this Jack of his and give him a nice firm punch right in the face and then make him work to regain Ianto's heart."

"Actually what he said was I should kick Jack right in the bollocks, but when I explained that those were a few of my favourite body parts, we decided a punch in the nose would work just as well." Ianto clarified. "Jack's quite vain, you see, so a broken nose and two black eyes are effective threats."

Dean snorted with laughter and even Castiel smiled gently.

Neither Ianto nor Benny brought up the other more private part of their relationship. After nearly a year without feeling a single gentle touch Ianto Jones was touch-starved and Benny remembered what that was like. After being turned, he'd spent years missing the loving caress of his still-mortal wife, so he'd done the only thing he could think of to help the young man. He had been as gentle as he could be during their first coupling and later as they laid together, he'd carefully ignored the tears that Ianto quietly shed into his pillow.

Both men knew their relationship would never truly turn romantic; Ianto's heart would most likely always belong to Jack Harkness and Benny felt nothing but strong friendship for Ianto. Still, that didn't mean he wouldn't cheerfully rip Jack apart for all the needless hurt he'd caused his friend.

A thoughtful look appeared on Dean's face. "Wise advice, don't forget to make this Jack fellow beg."

"Oh, trust me, Jack _will_ be begging by the time I'm done with him." Ianto also knew that unless Jack had taken up with Gwen during his absence, he would quickly forgive Jack. _'Even if he didn't mean the words he said in the House of the Dead.' _Ianto so desperately wanted to believe that Jack meant those three little words and that he really was loved by the immortal captain.

A serious of distant howls brought Ianto out of his memories and back to the present. "This talk will have to wait a little longer; it's time to get our arse in gear."

No one dared to argue with Ianto's suggestion and the four of them quickly picked up the pace not wanting to be caught by whatever was chasing them.

'_Sammy, I pray that you're putting that big brain of yours to work and you're trying to figure out a way_ _of getting us out of this nightmare,' _Dean silently thought as he picked up his pace. _'But please keep yourself safe, little brother.' _

TBC...


End file.
